Congratulations to our 2025 graduates awarded dissertation prizes

Kiran has been awarded the 2025 SSQRG Undergraduate Dissertation Prize of the Royal Geographical Society’s (RGS-IBG) Space, Sexualities and Queer Research Group (SSQRG).

Kiran said,

"I am deeply honoured to have received this award. First and foremost, I am undeniably grateful for all the stories that my participants have shared. With this award, I am inspired to hold their stories close to my heart and continue to work towards making the world and our educational institutions a more inclusive place for all” 

Panel members commented that Kiran’s dissertation - ‘Catching Butterflies: Using poetic methods to explore the ambivalent subjectivities of queer youth produced by a Singaporean heteronormative education’ - provides "great critical insight into the queerness of the most avowedly heteronormative educational environments”, and demonstrated “an outstanding critical geographic approach [and] truly creative methodological thinking for capturing the everyday, transient and affective subjectivities”

Sam has been jointly awarded the 2025 Gender and Feminist Geographies Research Group (GFGRG) Undergraduate Dissertation Prize for the dissertation Inside of ‘The Factory’: An investigation of  working-class masculinity in post-industrial Manchester.

Sam said,

“I am delighted to have won this prize. As a tribute to the people and places that shaped me, I couldn’t have wished for anything more than to have my dissertation recognised by the RGS with this award”

Ricardo has been awarded the 2025 Undergraduate Dissertation Prize of the Historical Geography Research Group (HGRG) of the Royal Geographical Society.

Ricardo said,

"I am elated by the news that I won the HGRG Undergraduate Dissertation Prize for 2025 and am looking forward to further contributing to historical geography. A long-term academic project of mine is increasing the representation of the Philippines and the wider Pacific World in historical geography research, where these areas are often neglected. 

Conducting research in the Manila archives was a thrilling adventure that allowed me to both reconnect with my roots as a Filipino and improve my ability to deal firsthand with primary sources. It was fascinating to see the many intercontinental trade linkages converging in the Early Modern Philippines, and to trace their numerous impacts on racial and religious identities as well as burgeoning global senses of place.”

Ricardo’s dissertation - ‘Shipshape! Global Places, Identities, and Networks along the Manila Galleon Trade, 1691-1794’ - highly impressed the panel, who commended “the sophisticated analysis and interpretation of unique historical sources used for the project and the insightful critical reflections on the methodological approach”.

Edward Holbrook has been awarded second place in the Geographies of Health and Wellbeing Research Group (GHWRG) Undergraduate Dissertation Prize for the dissertation “Look... I know you don’t want to, but it’s got to be done”: Examining practices of (quasi-) carceral (im)mobility within and beyond residential dementia care-homes.

The panel called it 'an insightful exploration into the complex interplay between care and control within residential dementia care settings...[that] offers a compelling theoretical framework that significantly impacts geographies of health and wellbeing geographies".

Madeleine Oliver has been awarded a Highly Commended Prize by the Geographies of Leisure and Tourism Research Group (GLTRG), in recognisition for the  dissertation Geographies of Belonging: An Exploration of Backpackers’ Transnational Homemaking whilst travelling in Southeast Asia's Urban Tourist areas. The panel felt the dissertation was "a strong contribution to research at the intersection of geographies of home and tourism geographies".

Ethan Chandler, Highly Commended by the Political Geography Research Group (PolGRG) for the 'superbly written' dissertation "Negotiating the Flux of a ‘Frozen’ Conflict: The Impact of Everyday Peace-Making on Youth Identities in Cyprus", examining how young people in Cyprus renegotiate identities shaped by education and memory through everyday peace practices.
 

Many congratulations from SoGE to all who have been awarded!